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US Elections: Obama's luke-warm performance riles the Democrats

President Obama and Republican presidential nominee Romney share a laugh at the end of the first presidential debate in Denver Credit: REUTERS/Jason Reed

The dust is settling on a successful night for Mitt Romney but the show must go on, and if you want to be the next president of the United States then rest is a luxury.

Both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney will hold events this morning, making speeches in front of large crowds instead of debating each other for a television audience.

The president has chosen to stay in Denver where he holds an event at a park a few miles from the university that hosted the debate.

He needs to pick up the pieces of a lacklustre night in the Mile High City and regain some momentum that otherwise his opponent will steal. Later in the day he heads to Wisconsin.

The reason why the president didn't choose to attack Mr. Romney's "47 percent" comment from last month or why he chose not to raise the issue of his personal wealth or the impact of his experience at Bain Capital seems inexplicable.

Democrats are furious. MSNBC's Chris Matthews unloaded both of his considerable verbal barrels at Obama, effectively questioning why the president was missing in action on stage last night.

Mitt Romney meanwhile flies to the East coast where he'll speak to a crowd in Virginia.

It's Republicans who leave Denver fired up, and the next few days will see if a successful night on stage leads to a bump in the polls.The early indications are clear: a nationwide CNN poll showed that two thirds of those that watched the showdown believe Romney won the debate.

But then John Kerry was widely held to have won the first debate with George Bush in 2004, and look what happened to him.

ITV News' Washington Editor, Michael Herrod, is following the campaign trail in the run-up to the US presidential election.